South Korea closes sex slavery compo body

Seoul will close a Japanese-funded foundation established to compensate South Korean victims of sexual slavery during World War II, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family says.

The foundation was part of a controversial 2015 accord between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and then South Korean president Park Geun Hye on the topic of so-called "comfort women."

The euphemistic term refers to the up to 200,000 women who were forced by Japan to serve in frontline military brothels during World War II.

South Korea and Japan announced the deal to "finally and irreversibly" resolve the comfort women issue as Tokyo apologised for its colonial-era atrocities and agreed to contribute 1 billion yen ($A12.15 million) to the foundation for victims.

But the deal was criticised for what was seen as an insincere apology from Japan and for failing to consult victims. In December, South Korean President Moon Jae In said the deal had "significant defects."

Many of the victims were from the Korean Peninsula, which was under Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. The rest were from the Netherlands and other Asian countries including China and Japan.

Seoul's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it will consult with Japan's government on how to deal with the foundation's remaining funds.